Libya tows drifting Russian 'shadow fleet' tanker to avert a Mediterranean spill

CAIRO (AP) — Libyan authorities were towing a Russian tanker drifting in the Mediterranean for the past three weeks, after the vessel was damaged in a suspected sea drone attack, officials said Tuesday.

The Arctic Metagaz is part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet transporting fossil fuels in violation of international sanctions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

Libya's coast guard said that the tanker, which carries liquefied natural gas, was being towed to a safe zone off the town of Zuwara on Libya’s western coast.

A video posted on Tuesday by Libyan authorities showed a tugboat towing the slowly moving tanker with a thick rope. The tanker is seen tilting on one side, with a blackened hull from a fire.

The National Oil Corp. in Libya said over the weekend that it was collaborating with Italian energy company Eni to safely bring the damaged tanker to the shore to avert an environmental crisis.

The Libyan company said that it has taken “all procedures … to reduce environmental risks and prevent any potential leakage or negative impacts.”

Russian authorities said that the Arctic Metagaz was hit and badly damaged by Ukrainian naval drones near Malta's waters. All 30 crew members were rescued. Ukraine hasn't commented.

The tanker was hit with a drone earlier this month. The Libyan Maritime Authority said at the time that the tanker experienced “sudden explosions, followed by a massive fire,” while it was about 240 kilometers (150 miles) off the Libyan city of Sirte. The Libyan governmental body also mistakenly reported that the tanker had sunk.

The Arctic Metagaz, however, remained floating and was pushed by winds and currents toward the Libyan coast, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature, a global conservation organization.

The group said Monday that the tanker remained “highly unstable,” and warned about “significant environmental risks for one of the Mediterranean’s most fragile and biodiversity-rich marine areas.”